Crypto Industry News & Market Trends

Bitcoin Whales Increase Holdings During Market Pullback

Bitcoin price dropped sharply this week and briefly touched $76,000 during increased selling pressure.Bitcoin whale wallets holding at least 100 BTC increased to 20,229 over the past year.Large Bitcoin holders continued accumulation despite market volatility and shifting investor sentiment.Data showed that these whale wallets now hold Bitcoin worth at least $7.7 million each.Retail traders showed fear and reacted with increased selling as bearish sentiment rose.　　Bitcoin recorded a sharp weekly decline and briefly touched $76,000, while large holders increased accumulation. Data showed rising whale wallet numbers despite growing market stress and negative sentiment. Analysts reported continued institutional activity as retail traders reacted with caution and selling pressure.　　Bitcoin Whales Expand Holdings During Price Weakness　　Bitcoin experienced a fast pullback this week, and prices briefly fell toward $76,000 during heavy selling. However, large holders continued accumulation, which reflects sustained activity from institutions and high-net-worth investors.　　Santiment reported that wallets holding at least 100 BTC increased to 20,229 over the past year. The firm stated, “This marks an 11.2% rise from 18,191 wallets recorded last year.”　　The amount of wallets holding at least 100 Bitcoin has risen to 20,229. This is a +11.2% increase compared to the 18,191 wallets holding at least this level a year ago.　　These

05-20Industry

Solana Price Prediction: SOL Holds $85 as Analysts Watch $78 and $135 Levels

Solana price is trading around $84.53, according to Brave New Coin data, with price up slightly over the past 24 hours but still sitting near the lower end of its recent range. The short-term chart shows SOL trying to hold its levels, while broader analyst charts remain split between a deeper retest and a larger recovery path.　　Solana Price Showing a Mixed Sentiment　　Solana is showing a mixed setup here. The chart shared by James shows that SOL has lost the center of its current range, meaning buyers are no longer fully controlling the mid-range area. Price is now trading closer to the lower half of the structure, with the $85–$86 zone acting as the immediate area to watch.　　But the bearish side is still clear. SOL has not reclaimed the mid-range yet, and every bounce below $88–$90 risks becoming another lower-high attempt. If sellers keep price capped under that zone, the market could still rotate back towards $83.50, with the larger channel support near $78 becoming the next important downside level.　　So for now, bulls have a support reaction, but bears still have the stronger structure. A reclaim above $88 would improve the setup, while a loss of $83.50 would likely shift attention

05-20Industry

Bitcoin Holds $76.9K as U.S.-China Power Race Heats Up, Strategys Preferred Equity Fuels BTC Stack

On the corporate side, TD Cowen lifted its price target on Strategy (MSTR) to $400, implying upside of more than 140% from recent trading levels near $166. The brokerage maintained a buy rating, citing faster-than-expected bitcoin purchases and a refined capital structure that supports bitcoin-per-share growth. Strategy now holds 843,738 BTC — roughly $64 billion at current prices and over 4% of the 21-million circulating supply cap. Between May 11 and May 17 alone, the firm added 24,869 BTC for approximately $2.01 billion, with the brokerage now projecting close to 100,000 BTC accumulated this quarter.　　A central plank of the bullish thesis is the bitcoin-per-1,000-fully-diluted-shares metric, which has climbed from 1.95 at the close of 2025 to 2.21 today. The increase signals that accretion from bitcoin purchases has outpaced dilution from new share issuance — a critical benchmark for investors tracking Strategy‘s aggressive capital deployment. Per-share bitcoin density is one of the few yardsticks that translates the company’s balance-sheet experiment into a tangible shareholder metric, and rising figures suggest that recent financing rounds have been productive rather than dilutive in net terms despite ongoing equity issuance directed toward continuous spot accumulation.　　The mechanism behind that improvement is increasingly leaning on preferred equity

05-20Industry

House Republicans seek indefinite block on U.S. CBDC plans

Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House have pushed to turn a temporary restriction on a central bank digital currency into a permanent ban as Congress prepares to vote on a major housing bill later this week.House Republicans have pushed to make the proposed U.S. CBDC ban permanent in the revised 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act.Representative Warren Davidson said the Senates 2030 expiration date could create a future pathway for a Federal Reserve-issued digital dollar.House Majority Whip Tom Emmer has continued urging the Senate to pass his Anti CBDC Surveillance State Act after it cleared the House earlier this year.　　According to Congressman Mike Flood, House lawmakers revised the Senates version of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act to remove what he described as a “backdoor green light for a CBDC” by making the prohibition indefinite rather than allowing it to expire in 2030.　　The Senate Banking Committee first introduced the housing package in March as a sweeping reform bill focused on housing supply, affordability programs, mortgage access, and manufactured housing rules. Senators Tim Scott and Elizabeth Warren led the legislation, which later advanced through the Senate with an 84 to 6 bipartisan procedural vote.　　Buried within the housing proposal was a

05-20Industry

Zcash Foundation Confirms SEC Closure While ZEC Price Surges

Zcash Foundation confirmed that the US SEC closed its investigation without taking enforcement action.The report stated that the inquiry began after a subpoena issued in August 2023.Zcash Foundation said the closure removed regulatory pressure and improved operational clarity.The network continued to function smoothly despite internal disruption at Electric Coin Company.Blocks were produced consistently, and transactions settled without any interruption.　　Zcash Foundation released its Q1 2026 report outlining regulatory updates, network stability, and protocol progress. The report confirmed the closure of a US SEC investigation without enforcement action. Meanwhile, ZEC extended its rebound and traded near $573 during the reporting period.　　Zcash Foundation confirms SEC case closure and regulatory clarity　　Zcash Foundation stated that the US Securities and Exchange Commission ended its inquiry without enforcement action. The agency initiated the investigation after issuing a subpoena in August 2023.　　The foundation said the closure removed regulatory pressure and provided clearer operational direction. It also confirmed that the SEC informed the organization directly about its decision.　　Zcash Foundation described the quarter as one of its most consequential operational periods. The report cited governance shifts, infrastructure work, and protocol upgrades across the ecosystem.　　The organization noted that regulatory clarity allows continued development without legal uncertainty. It emphasized that ongoing work

05-20Industry

Vitalik Buterin Unveils Q-STARK Hard Fork

Security in the age of quantum computing has moved from a theoretical concern to an urgent priority, and today, May 19, 2026, Ethereum took a decisive step forward. 　　Vitalik Buterin and the Ethereum core team announced the imminent “Q-STARK” hard fork, a massive network-wide upgrade designed to migrate the ecosystem to quantum-resistant cryptography.　　This upgrade, scheduled for late Q3 2026, focuses on replacing legacy ECDSA digital signature schemes, which are theoretically vulnerable to advanced quantum algorithms, with lattice-based signature schemes that are immune to quantum-shors algorithm attacks.　　Q-STARK　　The “Q-STARK” upgrade is the most complex technical migration in the history of decentralized networks. It requires existing users, smart contracts, and decentralized applications (dApps) to undergo a transition to new, quantum-hardened address formats. To facilitate this, the Ethereum Foundation is introducing an “Account Abstraction” standard that makes the migration seamless, requiring only a single on-chain signature to upgrade a legacy wallet to a quantum-proof state.　　While the technical complexity is high, the urgency is undeniable. Recent breakthroughs in quantum hardware have significantly shortened the timeline for “Q-Day” — the hypothetical point at which quantum computers could break existing standards. By acting now, the Ethereum community is proactively eliminating the single biggest existential threat to its

05-20Industry

Lighter jumps 11% - But 2 major factors stand in LITs place

Lighter, the perpetual DEX protocol, saw its native token LIT surge 11% in the past day as market sentiment shifted in favor of the bulls.　　Indicator analysis and chart patterns point to further upside, though obstacles remain above the current price that could slow the rally if momentum fades.　　Golden Cross and MFI confirm bullish momentum　　Lighters [LIT] rally follows a bullish crossover pattern known as the Golden Cross, as the Moving Average Convergence Divergence indicator sees its MACD line cross above the 9-day signal line.　　This pattern typically precedes a strengthening rally, with momentum tracked through price action and growing histogram bars on the chart.　　Source: TradingView　　Alongside this, the Money Flow Index, which tracks the inflow and outflow of capital from an asset, has surged into bullish territory with a reading of 56.　　Any reading between 50 and 80 sits within the bullish zone. A slight decline in the MFI from its recent high points to some profit-taking activity, but the overall reading confirms the market remains in bullish condition.　　Resistance above price has turned back LIT three times　　The path upward, while largely bullish, still carries a significant obstacle that AMBCryptos analysis has identified above current price levels. LIT is heading toward an upper resistance level

05-20Industry

SEC will no longer silence settling defendants, says Paul Atkins

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has rescinded its decades-old policy that barred defendants in enforcement settlements from publicly denying the agencys allegations.The SEC has removed its long-standing rule that barred settling defendants from publicly denying enforcement allegations.SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the policy created unnecessary limits on criticism of the agency during settlement agreements.Commissioner Hester Peirce said allowing both sides to speak freely would improve transparency around SEC enforcement actions.　　In a statement released Monday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said the repeal removes a rule first adopted in 1972 that required settling parties to agree not to challenge the agencys claims in public. Regulators said the policy had created the impression that the SEC was attempting to insulate itself from criticism, while also placing the agency out of step with most other federal regulators.　　“For more than 50 years, the Commission has conditioned settlement on a defendant‘s promise not to publicly deny the Commission’s allegations. I am pleased that we are rescinding the no-deny policy today,” SEC Chair Paul Atkins said. “This rescission ends the policy prohibiting such criticism by settling defendants.”　　Under the old framework, companies or individuals settling with the SEC could neither deny the allegations nor allow

05-20Industry

Hyperliquid price nears ATH as HYPE rallies 24% in 6 days

Santiment previously said HYPE gained 12% after Coinbase became Hyperliquids official USDC treasury deployer. That move added to market attention around Hyperliquid, while other tokens also saw smaller breakouts during the same period.　　The rally also came as traders reacted to the CLARITY Act clearing a key U.S. Senate committee on May 14. The bill is aimed at creating clearer market structure rules for digital assets, and its progress helped lift sentiment around crypto trading platforms, including Hyperliquid.　　Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF adds HYPE demand　　Bitwise has added another catalyst. The asset manager said it will devote 10% of the management fee from its Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF, trading under BHYP, to holding HYPE on its balance sheet. The firm linked the move to Hyperliquids model, where about 99% of protocol revenue goes toward buying and burning HYPE.　　Bitwises official launch note said BHYP began trading on NYSE on May 15. The fund carries a 0.34% sponsor fee, waived for the first month on the first $500 million in assets.　　Bitwise also said HYPE had reached more than $11 billion in market cap and had become the tenth-largest crypto asset. Bitwise said in its X post, “Were holding HYPE.”　　USDC expansion strengthens Hyperliquid trading rails　　The HYPE rally also

05-20Industry

Here’s How XRP Is Making Its Next Major Push Into The Trillion-Dollar Wall Street

Scott Matherson is a prominent crypto writer at NewsBTC with a knack for capturing the pulse of the market, covering pivotal shifts, technological advancements, and regulatory changes with precision. Having witnessed the evolving landscape of the crypto world firsthand, Scott is able to dissect complex crypto topics and present them in an accessible and engaging manner. Scotts dedication to clarity and accuracy has made him an indispensable asset, helping to demystify the complex world of cryptocurrency for countless readers.　　Scott‘s experience spans a number of industries outside of crypto including banking and investment. He has brought his vast experience from these industries into crypto, which allows him to understand even the most complex topics and break them down in a way that is easy for readers from all works of life to understand. Scott’s pieces have helped to break down cryptocurrency processes and how they work, as well as the underlying groundbreaking technology that makes them so important to everyday life.　　With years of experience in the crypto market, Scott began to focus on his true passion: writing. During this time, Scott has been able to author countless influential pieces that have drawn in millions of readers and have shaped public opinion

05-20Industry

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